Sister Maelis guides Raven down the warded stair, keeping the wounded woman braced against Lucien Draken. Above, horns thunder beyond the sealed receiving hall. Below waits a round chamber of black stone and moonlit dust.
At its center rests a dry silver basin. Faded names encircle it, some crossed out, some newly bright beneath the grime. A hairline crack divides the basin into three star-shaped channels.
Sister Maelis
This vessel remembers claims made by hostile gods. Blood, shadow, or chosen soul will awaken its answer. It may show whether Shar has marked Raven, you, or both.
Raven
If the mark belongs to me, let it take me alone. Do not let it reach him.
The black sigil beneath Raven’s wrappings pulses. At once, a thin darkness crawls across the basin’s rim, while silver fire gathers around Lucien Draken’s holy symbol. The sanctuary has recognized both presences.
Sister Maelis
There is the truth. Shar’s claim is braided through you both, but not equally. The basin can sever the weaker strand, if one of you willingly anchors the other in Selûne’s light before the hunters breach the ward.
✓ Quest Accepted
Sever the weaker strand of Shar’s claim
“I will do it”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled -1)
Lucien Draken
I will do it.
Lucien Draken presses his holy symbol into the basin's silver channel and anchors Raven beneath its radiance. Selûne's light closes around her like a second ward.
The weaker strand tears free from Raven's sigil. Blackness recoils into the basin, leaving the faint seven-pointed star beneath her inscription dim but intact.
Raven
The weight is gone. Lucien, the pain is gone.
The cost arrives at once. The basin drinks the strength from Lucien Draken's arm, numbing it to the shoulder, and the released magic rings through the undercroft like a struck bell.
Sister Maelis
The weaker claim is severed, but the cleansing exposed her remaining sigil to Shar's guiding magic. The hunters can follow it now.
Above, the horns stop. A moment later, boots descend toward the warded stair, while silver light continues to hold Raven upright.
Quest Complete
Sever the weaker strand of Shar’s claim